The present disclosure concerns a method and system for providing a patterned structure on a substrate.
Generally, printing of conductive pastes is based on a contacting method. For example, (rotary) screen printing comprises the printing of conductive pastes. Although quite high resolutions can be achieved, this method is based on contact. However, various device stacks such as OLEDs and OPV cells may not allow contacting as they contain a barrier stack. Accordingly a contactless method for providing a patterned structure is desired.
For example, inkjet printing has the advantage of being contactless. However, the nozzle size limits the usable particle size of conductive inks, and the maximum resolution is affected by the spreading (low viscosity) and drop size. In another example, Laser Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) is a relatively new patterning technique to deposit high resolution conductive structures. However, laser systems are quite expensive and ultimately it is still based on drop on demand.
There remains a desire for improved control over fast and contactless patterning of a large area structure on a substrate.